Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 279 A tough battle
"General Punu has arrived!"

Our reinforcements have arrived!

The Xiongnu barbarians were so excited they almost cried. They struggled to gather in one place, but the Pei family army was already bloodthirsty and fought a protracted battle at the cost of mutual destruction.

The fierce bravery of Pei's army deeply inspired the Guangning army. The soldiers of the Guangning army shouted and fought desperately.

The ground continued to tremble, and the sound of horses' hooves, like muffled thunder, grew louder as they approached. By the light of the torches, a large group of blurry black figures could be vaguely seen.

At this speed, they can reach the battlefield in an instant.

In the chaotic battlefield, everyone was roaring and fighting fiercely. At such a time, no matter what you shout, it's impossible for it to reach everyone's ears, making effective command impossible.

Pei Qinghe swiftly climbed the tree, steadied herself, and drew her bow. The archers surrounding her followed suit, quickly climbing the tree as well.

Pei Qinghe's arrows never missed, but now that the battle was urgent, he didn't care about wasting arrows and fired the first arrow at the warhorse galloping through the darkness.

The archers all followed suit and started shooting arrows.

Then came the second and third arrows. They fired as many arrows as they could before the Xiongnu pursuers reached the battlefield.

This dense rain of arrows claimed countless lives. In the darkness, cries of alarm rang out; some fell from their horses, others were tripped by the arrows. Many infantrymen, carrying torches, hurled them with all their might. Some horses were startled, others were struck by the torches and set ablaze. Cavalrymen on horseback tried to leap away, but were thrown from their flaming mounts, their bellies trampled, their intestines bursting open, their screams of agony echoing through the air.

The cavalry, which had been advancing in a powerful wave, had to slow down.

Then, the Xiongnu cavalry faced a new predicament. The battlefield was littered with corpses, and the warhorses lying on the ground neighed and cried out in agony; everywhere was filled with the trembling sounds of fighting. Even if they could break through, they were highly likely to accidentally injure their own men.

The Xiongnu general who led the troops to the rescue was a confidant of Punu. This man was bloodthirsty and cruel, and he grinned as he shouted, "Charge!"

He took the lead and charged forward on his horse.

The cavalrymen suffered repeated setbacks, and their morale plummeted. At this moment, led by their generals, they charged into the battlefield, indiscriminately attacking friend and foe alike, which boosted the morale of the Xiongnu cavalrymen once again, and they began shouting incoherently.

The Xiongnu barbarians who had been fighting fiercely in the arena roared and cursed angrily, fleeing in panic. The Pei family soldiers, facing the iron hooves of their warhorses, gritted their teeth and brandished their weapons. Even if they died, they would fight to take an enemy down with them.

The sharp whistle rang out again.

On the chaotic battlefield, their general blew a bamboo whistle, guiding them to regroup. Finding comrades in the chaos was impossible, and there was no time to look around. They formed five-man formations with the nearest comrades in the shortest possible time.

This was something they were used to practicing on a daily basis. On the battlefield, where flesh and blood flew and death was imminent, being able to fight side by side with comrades was like dying together, with someone to accompany them on the road to the underworld. The sharp whistles that blew one after another gave them immense courage.

After suffering heavy casualties, they survived the first cavalry charge. Many Xiongnu cavalrymen and their horses perished in the attack.

Driven by the momentum of their run, the warhorses continued to charge forward.

Pei Qinghe threw away his bow and arrows, drew his long sword, leaped down from under the tree, swung his sword in mid-air, cut down a Xiongnu cavalryman, and stole his horse.

The archers also jumped down. They were the elite of the Pei family army, skilled in archery and equally adept at swordsmanship, sharp and ruthless.

Lu Feng, his blood boiling, stuck a torch into a tree and roared, "Everyone, charge! Let's fight to the death!"

The Fanyang army, once a bunch of good-for-nothings, have been tempered and trained to fight back. One by one, they placed torches on trees or the ground, drew their long swords, and charged forward, howling.

This is a truly tough battle.

Compared to the cavalry battles of the past few days, the two sides had more troops, and the battles were more brutal and bloody!
Everyone was in a bloodthirsty frenzy.

Suddenly, a burst of flames erupted.

It turned out that a torch had fallen from a tree and set the grass ablaze. As the fire spread, warhorses and corpses were also set ablaze. Some people were even engulfed in flames, writhing in agony on the ground.

The fire was spreading rapidly. If this continued, everyone would be affected.

The Xiongnu barbarians' natural tendency to flee when things didn't go well in battle resurfaced, and soon, Xiongnu barbarians began to flee on horseback. Once the first one appeared, a second and a third followed.

The Xiongnu general roared angrily, but the battlefield was too chaotic for his voice to carry. However, it did attract Pei Qinghe's attention.

What's it like to be targeted by Pei Qinghe?
It was like being stared at by a fierce tiger.

That was the fear of impending death.

A chill ran down the spine of the Xiongnu general, and he turned his horse to flee. A long sword flew through the air, piercing through his back and then through his chest.

The Xiongnu general let out a desperate roar, fell from his horse, and died.

The remaining Xiongnu cavalry, watching helplessly as their general breathed his last, lost all courage and fled in disarray.

Pei's army had only a hundred or so warhorses left, and Pei Yan and his men were all wounded, so they were unable to pursue. Watching the Xiongnu cavalry ride away, Pei Yan angrily swore.

Pei Qinghe paid no heed to this, strode forward, drew his long sword, and continued to fight.

All the Xiongnu cavalry who could run away fled. The remaining Xiongnu barbarians, some who had lost their horses or were trapped and unable to escape, were buried here.

"Run!"

"The fire is getting bigger and bigger, and they're still fighting instead of running away! Have they gone mad?!"

The Xiongnu barbarians who were forcibly detained also went mad.

They simply couldn't understand why the Pei family army wasn't running away and was still fighting when the fire was so big. Were the Pei family army really not afraid of death?
On the most dangerous battlefield, their General Punu did not come, and the general who commanded them was also dead.

Pei Qinghe, on the other hand, has always been with her Pei family army.

Pei Qinghe didn't retreat, and no one else did.

Perhaps a moment passed, or perhaps a long time, before Pei Qinghe finally blew the whistle to retreat.

Only then did Pei's soldiers drag their barely breathing comrades away from the flames.

The man holding the Pei-character flag had already breathed his last. Pei Qinghe personally picked up the flagpole, rushed out of the area where the fire was raging most rapidly, and reached a place not yet engulfed by the flames, waving the flag.

All those who had escaped gathered together.

Seeing the fire spreading, Pei Qinghe didn't have time to say anything. She quickly waved the Pei-character flag and led all the survivors to run forward.

She chose the direction of Liaoxi County.

They kept running.

They ran out of the raging flames, onto the official road, and kept running.

Pei's army routinely ran every morning, often covering ten miles with weights. Guangning's army lagged behind, becoming breathless after only five miles.

Fan Yangjun was even worse off and quickly fell behind.

Pei Qinghe slowed down slightly and led everyone forward. As dawn broke, they arrived at the city gate of Liaoxi County.

(End of this chapter)